Re: Couple of questions on New Mini ToriiReply #16 - 03/13/14 at 13:05:35

Spoke to a local guy on the phone today, he runs his own shop, tubeamps only. He stated that in his experience 9/10 tubeamps he had heard had a hum, nothing to worry about. He also meant that the hum would not increase in volume lineary with increased sensibility in speakers. I would still hear it up close, but wouldnt be a "showstopper".

Re: Couple of questions on New Mini ToriiReply #18 - 03/19/14 at 23:55:20

One thing completly different that i wanted to ask you guys. I know its stated that the MT doesnt really need a preamp, and at the moment i dont use one. The thing is that it seldom comes a preamp (or any other other) decware gear) up for sale with 240 volt. At the moment I have a CSP2+ within reach for about USD 650.. Will it be a noticeable upgrade with the MT? How will the CSP2+ be as a pure headphone amp? I have another room where I plan to (sometime down the road) have a headphone setup , but i was kind of opting for a Taboo...

Re: Couple of questions on New Mini ToriiReply #19 - 03/20/14 at 06:10:11

Tough questions.

I would say you have to try it for yourself and decide. I personally would not put a preamp with the mini torii, but that is just me. You may benefit from the whole riding the gain thing.

I would snap up the opportunity to get a used 240 volt CSP2+ because like you said they don't come around that often. On the other hand, you can always get a new CSP3 or Taboo at some point later instead.

Re: Couple of questions on New Mini ToriiReply #21 - 03/26/14 at 12:32:20

Seikosha /others as wellGot my speakers a short week ago. The hum issue is still there. But i have to say, to hear any hum I will have to be pretty close to the speaker. If surroundings are dead quiet i can hear them from a couple of feet away. When there is music, i do not notice anything at all. In conclusion this means I will not do anything in way of sending it or "bother" Steve with this, it just isnt a problem big enough to worry about. I have read the article mentioned earlier, and will do so again to see if there is something I can figure out and do something about.

I have decided to buy the CSP2+ if still available in a few weeks. I consider this to be an extra treat to myself and I can use it both as a preamp and for headphones so I believe i can have good use of it. I have to wait a little though (so if the guy has a buyer I will have to let it go elsewhere) At the moment im really enjoying the result I have now with the MT and the Omegas. Its just music.

Re: Couple of questions on New Mini ToriiReply #23 - 04/20/14 at 16:37:39

Hello Jorgen and everyone else,

I own a mini torii and I have experimented extensively with different parts, mostly so that I could get a personal idea of how sound can be shaped by rolling resistors and caps, not just tubes.

I have a pair of 10inch fullrange Nirvanas (rated at about 94db-96db).

Initially I had no hum whatsoever, the Mt was remarkably silent. Deadsilent if I remember correctly.

I will spare you the rest of the story, but somewhere along the line, after changing the electrolytic ps caps to huge Solen 47uf and the 6x4 cap to a smaller 10uf (down from 47uf), hum creeped in. It was ok, since I could not hear it from the listening position.Until some time ago, when it became louder. I constantly mod the amp, so I had neglected to listen to changes in hum level specifically. I spent about 2 weeks hunting the issue down, changing resistors from kiwame to ww mills, suspecting my carbon film 47k plate resistors etc, tightening up bolts....Until I put in 2 huge 47uf obbligato caps instead of the 10uf rectifier caps I had, thus returning to Steve's original value.

Hum is almost gone.

The amp itself makes a little hum, so I have it on carbon cones with a heavy rock and a statue of Buddha on top of the main transformers.

From a Zen perspective, we can see that Buddha statues are very useful.

In the past I had hum issues with a few input tubes, that are just inherently noisy. New Mullard 12ax7 and Tung sol I believe, I cannot be more precise. I suppose you have a variety of input tubes that you have tried, although the stock complement was quiet in my case and probably in yours too.